five minutes on the tread mill at 4.1 mph and a 2% incline, with an exaggerated arm swing... followed by picking up a pair of 5 pound plates and doing a series of warmup moves, pretty much getting blood into every joint and muscle, before i even grab a weight.

then it's two warmup sets on the first exercise...after that you are good to go. No need to do warmup sets for every exercise, just the first one for a muscle group

i do the squats same way, very slow, its very very painfull, i think a slow all the way down squat with 300lbs is way more brutal and effective than an explosive not all the way down w2ith 400lbs.

by all the way down i mean ass right to the floor.

deadlifts same, i do them very slow.deadlifts is the main reason why im afraid of injury, i had one happening once from a deadlift where i pulled too quick, something in the lower back snapped like a machinegun, couldnt walk for coyple days.yes, at age 20 felt and likely was invincible, i remember coming to the gym all jacked up on the whole buffet thats in the black steroid book and warmup icecold with 220lbs on the bench.

haha, thses days, i need 15minutes warmup before even thinking about that.the joints arent the same nomore

I`ve always gone all the way down regardless of rep speed. I really can`t do squats parallel, it just feels so awkward. I have to go to the ground every time. I have never warmed up ever on anything and have never had an injury. That could be due to the fact that I have never used any kind of steroids or anything like that. It seems its the people who do use, are at continual risk for injury.

neither do i ever lock out any koint on any execise, this keeps the contrction up at all times.

when im fully warmed up on a good day i go for more weight and somewhat more explosive reps.

but first and foremost its the fear of injuries.

well you got a good physique so you are doing the right thing...i train now a lot more concentrated. I really try to wring out what i can from my training..and not too Heavy for me. No more straining under a weight which is too heavy.. training slower is good and really helps muscle building.

when i see young guys throwing weights around i cringe but i used to be exactly the same

i always train slow and controlled and never go below six reps now

I have always been much, much better at low reps than high reps. Especially with bench press. A heavy set of 2-5 reps is easier for me to do then a lighter set of 10-12. My rep ranges are always, 5/5/5/2 or 10/8/6/4/3/2 or 10/10/10. The 10/10/10 is by far the most difficult for me.

I have always been much, much better at low reps than high reps. Especially with bench press. A heavy set of 2-5 reps is easier for me to do then a lighter set of 10-12. My rep ranges are always, 5/5/5/2 or 10/8/6/4/3/2 or 10/10/10. The 10/10/10 is by far the most difficult for me.

I`ve really tried to train with higher reps, but have always ended up getting weaker and weaker as a result. The same for Slow, controlled movements. Sometimes I would combine the two, slow and controlled and high reps. After a a few months I would try to see where I was in terms of max in Bench/Squat etc.. and all lifts would be down about 25 lbs or more. Very strange.

Its not really feasible with Deadlift or Squats right? I mean I could see it for Squats, but wouldn`t the danger increase in that case?

Sure it is. I do "bodybuilder deadlifts." Meaning a double overhand grip, and slow/controlled. I have a video of myself doing a 5 plate per side DL with a solid 3-4 second negative. Total control, it's the best way to train IMO.

I think doing things this way is a product of aging, and not just to avoid injury, but because "ego lifting" becomes a thing of the past. I put 315 on the bar not too long ago for chest just to see what it felt like, but I usually don't go over 245 for sets of 10-12, and maybe 275 for 8 if I'm feeling froggy. You know your body best, and begin to know what works best for it. I really believe in muscle memory, and if you have a decent base and don't have a history of roid abuse, can keep gains. I take time off and usually my body composition may change a bit, but with in two weeks, my strength is back to where it was.

When I stopped playing sports, I tried powerlifting, trying to find a sport with black/white rules on winning/losing.

Now I don't care how strong I am. Really...how much more useful is a 450lb bench versus a 380lb bench in my everyday life? When would those extra 70lbs really be worth it for me?

I do know the amount of risk I have to entertain to get those extra 50lbs. Hurt shoulder, bad elbows, bad neck from driving into the bench...lots of fun. For 70lbs on the bench.

I just don't care anymore.

I'd rather be able to move, be somewhat strong, be able to workout when I want because I'm not hurt. If I train with girl weights, I don't care anymore.

I like slow reps, controlled contractions on positive and negative, and a big stretch and squeeze with full range of motion. I do at least 15 reps per set, but often go up to 25 or even 50 reps per set. Once I started training like that, I didn't need to do stretches or mobility work anymore. All my aches and pains and tightness vanished. I stopped focusing on moving a weight from point A to point B, and focused on making my muscle work over as far a ROM as possible, over as long a period of time as possible. It made a difference in how I look for the better...I know that. Muscles look rounder and fuller. Each little bodypart gets attention so the proportions of the body look smoother and flow better. And fewer injuries mean less atrophying of hurt muscles that I have to work my ass off on to build back up.

No more 585lb squats for 4 reps anymore. But, I'm not hurt anymore either. And I still LOOK like I can squat it (even though I probably couldn't squat 405 for 4 reps now). When I was at my powerlifting/football biggest, my quads measured 29.5 inches at 5'9" at 275lbs and I could squat 585 for 4 reps, and did my best squat of 630lbs. At the same weight now, my quads still measure 29.5 inches, but I don't squat above 225lbs now on any set. And I'm leaner. So I don't buy this whole "you have to get stronger on your 1RM to get bigger", at least when it applies to me.

When I stopped playing sports, I tried powerlifting, trying to find a sport with black/white rules on winning/losing.

Now I don't care how strong I am. Really...how much more useful is a 450lb bench versus a 380lb bench in my everyday life? When would those extra 70lbs really be worth it for me?

I do know the amount of risk I have to entertain to get those extra 50lbs. Hurt shoulder, bad elbows, bad neck from driving into the bench...lots of fun. For 70lbs on the bench.

I just don't care anymore.

I'd rather be able to move, be somewhat strong, be able to workout when I want because I'm not hurt. If I train with girl weights, I don't care anymore.

I like slow reps, controlled contractions on positive and negative, and a big stretch and squeeze with full range of motion. I do at least 15 reps per set, but often go up to 25 or even 50 reps per set. Once I started training like that, I didn't need to do stretches or mobility work anymore. All my aches and pains and tightness vanished. I stopped focusing on moving a weight from point A to point B, and focused on making my muscle work over as far a ROM as possible, over as long a period of time as possible. It made a difference in how I look for the better...I know that. Muscles look rounder and fuller. Each little bodypart gets attention so the proportions of the body look smoother and flow better. And fewer injuries mean less atrophying of hurt muscles that I have to work my ass off on to build back up.

No more 585lb squats for 4 reps anymore. But, I'm not hurt anymore either. And I still LOOK like I can squat it (even though I probably couldn't squat 405 for 4 reps now). When I was at my powerlifting/football biggest, my quads measured 29.5 inches at 5'9" at 275lbs and I could squat 585 for 4 reps, and did my best squat of 630lbs. At the same weight now, my quads still measure 29.5 inches, but I don't squat above 225lbs now on any set. And I'm leaner. So I don't buy this whole "you have to get stronger on your 1RM to get bigger", at least when it applies to me.

I have a bulging neck disc, and I know this sounds stupid, but I never realized this was why training chest bothered my neck. I always assumed it was from the strain of slinging the dumbbells up on incline bench, or holding my breath during reps. Wow, I actually found something useful and BB related on this board.

This..i do my reps in a rest/pause fashion. it's very advanced and only those who have 18+ muscular arms should try it.

fairly slow, but not stupid slow on the way down...1,2 3 normally...then i rest for a count, usually I'll re-grip the bar and then up fast and explosive. Then I like to jump up scream "YEEEAH MOTHER.F.UCKER !!!!!! THAT"S WHAT"S UP, YOU BLACK BASTARD!!!!!"...to no one in particular, at the end of the set.

I have a bulging neck disc, and I know this sounds stupid, but I never realized this was why training chest bothered my neck. I always assumed it was from the strain of slinging the dumbbells up on incline bench, or holding my breath during reps. Wow, I actually found something useful and BB related on this board.

Crazy, right?

My chiropractor was a very successful powerlifter (in a lighter weight class). He me with my shoulder impingement, and after a few months of visits, he figured out that my nerves in my thoracic spine were getting pinched by crushing my neck into the bench to bridge for a bigger bench. This led to atrophy in supraspinatus which wasn't firing due to poor nerve conduction, which weakened the integrity of the supporting muscles in the shoulder, allowing the shoulder to drift every so slightly on a bench (no matter how hard I pinched my scapula together on the bench). This wore the glenohumeral structures down, leading to premature impingement syndrome.

Only solution - stop benching so heavy. No amount of massage, ART, or adjustments helped. We tried (obviously, he wanted it to work...bigger fees for him). At the of the day, my chase for a 5 plate bench was done. And with it, my lust for heavy weights and explosive reps.

I decided I wanted to lift a long time at a lighter weight than a short time at bigger weights.